Two Eyes in the Dark
}} O-Chul educates the Monster in the Darkness with a game of Go. Cast * Vaarsuvius (Soul Spliced) ◀ ▶ * Team Evil ** Xykon ◀ ▶ ** Redcloak ◀ ▶ ** The Monster in the Darkness ◀ ▶ ** A Demon-Roach ◀ ▶ ** Jirix ◀ ▶ * O-Chul ◀ ▶ Transcript O-Chul and the Monster in the Darkness are playing a game of Go. Monster in the Darkness: —and that's how I got from the rainforest to the circus. O-Chul: I see. But how did you get to the forest in the first place? O-Chul: Your move. Monster in the Darkness: Oh, I was always there. O-Chul: You were born there? That is where your parents lived? Monster in the Darkness: No... but I remember my dad, sort of. He was BIG, and he ate a lot. Way more than I do. O-Chul: Is that... normal... for your kind? Monster in the Darkness: Dunno. Demon-Roach: I bet HE ate babies. Monster in the Darkness: I don't even know what "my kind" is. Not exactly. Monster in the Darkness: Like, if there's a name or a homeland or something. I don't know anything about it. Monster in the Darkness: But it's cool, because Redcloak definitely knows. Oh, and Xykon too. And, like, they're both a LOT smarter than I am, so I just don't think about it too much. Monster in the Darkness: Your move. O-Chul: Have you considered starting? Monster in the Darkness: Thinking? O-Chul: Yes. You know what they say about an unexamined life. Demon-Roach: Eh... It's overrated. Monster in the Darkness: That it's totally awesome and everyone who lives one gets cake? O-Chul: Monster-san... Monster in the Darkness: OK, I get what you're saying, but thinking is so... hard. It's just easier to let everyone else do it. O-Chul: I see. In that case, I will capture these pieces here. Monster in the Darkness: Hey, you can't do that! O-Chul: Why not? Close-up of the Go board. Monster in the Darkness (inset): Because I still have two empty spots left open, in the middle. That means you can't capture me by surrounding me. O-Chul (inset): Yes. Yes, exactly. O-Chul (inset): Your life is much like this Go board, my friend. You have allowed yourself to be surrounded by enemy pieces—people who wish to bend you to their will, to remove your unique voice from the board and replace it with one of... of mindless subservience. O-Chul (inset): But as you correctly point out, you are still holding on to two empty places in the center. O-Chul (inset): They are your heart, and your mind. They are the places that make you what you really are. Demon Roach: Hey, we could have told you his mind was an empty place years ago. O-Chul: Do you wish to surrender one of them so easily? O-Chul: Do you wish for all that you are to be taken away? Monster in the Darkness: No, but I— Demon Roach: Hey, wait a minute... O-Chul: But that is what you are doing every time you allow those villains to tell you what to do! Monster in the Darkness: But—I don't know what to—should I— Demon Roach: Don't listen to him, you idiot! He's trying to— A massive sound shakes the tower, "'BOOOOOOMM!!!"'' O-Chul, the Monster in the Darkness, and the Demon Roach are shaken by the sound, which continues across this panel as well. '''Monster in the Darkness: That wasn't me this time! They didn't even SERVE baked beans today! O-Chul: No, friend, I think that earth-shattering sound did not originate in your bowels, for once. Look! Demon Roach: Medic! MEDIC! Vaarsuvius appears in the tower before Xykon, Redcloak, and Jirix, smoking but apparently unharmed. Monster in the Darkness: Oh, man! Monster in the Darkness: Where did that elf get beans from?!? O-Chul: *sigh* D&D Context * V is smoking and the floor below V is black in the penultimate panel. This is likely not due to Xykon attacking V, but rather from the conflict between the two epic-level spells: Cloister which prevented any teleportation into the city, and Epic Teleport, which is powerful enough to override this effect. Trivia * In Go, empty spots surrounded by pieces are called "eyes". Thus the MitD's position includes two eyes amid the dark pieces, much like himself. * In panel 4, page 1, O-Chul refers to Socrates famous dictum from his trial, "The unexamined life is not worth living", as described in Plato's Apology. * This is the first appearance of Team Evil in 101 strips. External Links * 651}} View the comic * 110897}} View the discussion thread Category:Vaarsuvius During the Soul Splice